Fox Chapel Area High School student earns worldwide recognition for perfect AP score

Who says there’s no such thing as perfection?

Anna Delale-O’Connor, a junior at Fox Chapel Area High School, recently earned a perfect score on the Advanced Placement (AP) World History: Modern Exam.

Her score landed her in the company of only five other students globally.

“I didn’t believe it at first. I was pretty shocked. Of course, I also felt excited and proud of myself, but it was a major surprise to me,” Delale-O’Connor said of her reaction when she received her score.

More than 300,000 students had taken the test in the spring of 2023.

Delale-O’Connor is the second student from Fox Chapel Area High School to score perfectly on an AP exam. In 2018, then FCAHS junior Rajeev Godse received a perfect score on the AP Statistics Exam.

The College Board administers the AP program, which offer college-level courses taken in high school. Most colleges and universities grant credit, advance placement or both to students who earn qualifying scores on AP Exams, according to the College Board.

Delale-O’Connor, of O’Hara, is the daughter of Lori Delale-O’Connor and Jason O’Connor.

In an email, Trevor Packer, head of the AP program, congratulated Anna on her academic accomplishment.

“We applaud your mastery of the content and skills of this AP course and wish you many future successes.”

To prep for the test, Delale-O’Connor said she took a lot of practice tests that included multiple choice and written answer sections and attended in-person review sessions.

Additionally, she watched AP review videos and live streams in the days leading up to the test.

Delale-O’Connor developed an interest in history from a young age.

“I began to like it far more in 9th grade when I had a more dedicated history class,” Delale-O’Connor said. “I got into learning more about history through books and podcasts outside of school and really enjoyed taking AP World History last year.”

FCAHS social studies teacher Brandon Rios taught Anna’s AP World History course last year.

“She did such a wonderful job in class and her work ethic is amazing,” Rios said. “I told her that she is the first student in all my years of teaching AP classes to accomplish this. I’m so proud of her.”